There was a record crowd participating in the 2019 Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, which led to a significantly higher prize pool than the $1 million that was guaranteed. As a result, player got to take home much higher payouts than were expected.

Nick Ahamdi ended up winning the event but only took home $209,977 for his big win. He ended up in a head’s up situation with Robert Pollmeier and the two decided to split. Ahamdi earned the trophy and the win, since he was the chip leader, but Pollmeier won the exact same amount even though he placed second.

With a buy-in of $570 and 2,958 entries, Ahamdi earned the biggest share of the $1,479,000 prize pool. And don’t forget that since this no-limit hold’em deep stack event offered re-entry, there was even more players to cut through. In fact, play had to continue a day beyond the actual schedule due to the huge amount of entries.

For Ahamdi, this was his first ever live tournament win. Beyond the money, he’ll collect 600 Card Player of the Year points but as mentioned, this being his first win, he’s nowhere near the top of the rankings.

Rocha Tops Field To Win 2019 Borgata Spring Poker Open Kickoff Event

The 2019 Borgata Spring Poker Open kickoff event has come and gone and Alex Rocha has conquered the no-limit hold’em kickoff event. The tournament, which had a $600 buy-in and a $1 million guarantee, attracted 2,199 entries across six starting flights. That led to an ultimate prize pool of $1,187,460 and after five days of competition, Rocha emerged as the champion.

Rocha, who is based in New York State, pulled in $180,591 as a cash prize, which was the largest of his career. Cumulatively, he has now won over $2.3 million in his poker-playing career.

He entered the final day of play in second place as a measure of chips remaining, but he had to deal with 17 other players in a collection of 18. He subsequently collected 540 Card Player of the Year points for his title.

Taking a look at the top three, George Grabe was the runner-up and won $150,000 plus 450 Card Player of the Year points. Yan Wang was third with $85,236 and 360 Card Player points.

Burris Denies Blair Hinkle at Council Bluffs

In a story that will mildly surprise those who have followed this tournament over the years, Blair Hinkle did not win at the World Series of Poker event in Council Bluffs. Don’t feel too bad, though, because he still finished very well.

The Circuit Horseshoe Council Bluffs tournament has often been the personal playground of Hinkle, who won this event in 2010, 2013 and 2014. He would have taken home a fourth championship last week had it not been for Nick Burris, who held him off.

Burris, a 42-year-old insurance agent, had about a 1.5 million chip lead as the two entered head’s up play and that allowed him to bully him a little bit. He eventually built up a 7-1 chip lead before Hinkle was backed into a corner. Burris ended up collecting $99,267 for his first-place finish, while Hinkle won $61,344 for second place.